


Impossible is just a word

by Schreibmaschine



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Inspired by Cyberpunk 2077, M/M, Mercenaries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28674375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schreibmaschine/pseuds/Schreibmaschine
Summary: Gavin has a personal vendetta against Cyberlife ever since the mega-corporation killed his friends during their investigation against them. Having left the force he has only one goal: revenge. With his next job he may finally be able to reach that goal, but it has one downside: He has to work with RK900 - an android sent by Cyberlife.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 17
Kudos: 28
Collections: DBHSecretSanta2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the #DBHSecretSanta2020! This work is for the wonderful adorkable_anna on twitter! I hope you had a merry Christmas and a nice start into the new year!

If there was anything Gavin could still be surprised about in this phcked up city, it was that everyone still bothered heeding red lights. He was stuck in traffic, waiting for one little light to jump from red to green that would allow all other cars around him to drive on. Drive on to shoot up some gang, drive to help said gang shoot up the attackers, drive to make the deal of the century with some mega-corporation or drive to see the little bit of family everyone in this city held so close to them in fear of losing it. All postponed for a few minutes waiting for a traffic light. It was ridiculous if you thought about it too much.  
Gavin didn’t. Thinking too much had brought him here. He tapped on the steering wheel to the beat of the music and let his eyes wander. Of course, they fell on the most prominent building in the entire city and pulled up his hand to show the big bright letters reading _Cyberlife_ the middle finger. The damn tower mocked him, looking pristine and being visible from almost every spot. He couldn’t look out of the window of his apartment, without the font greeting him. He forced his eyes loose from the building and saw someone in the next car stare at him with narrowed eyes. Gavin sighed, flipping them off too and driving off as the light turned green just as the idiot was exiting his car furiously.

Oh, he couldn’t even describe how much he hated Cyberlife. As he drove on through neon-lit streets over and underneath streets and buildings, the vertical gradient of rich and poor an ever-present symbol of power, he smiled. He might not be rich or famous, but he had a goal. And that goal was almost close enough to reach now. He was on his way to Jeffrey, his trusted fixer that had a job he might be interested in. And those words made the sparkle in his eyes light up like nothing else. Because Jeffrey didn’t have a job for him. He didn’t need his help with a job. No, he had something Gavin might be interested in. And that meant he got a chance at screwing Cyberlife over and get closer to the one person responsible for all of his misery. The reason Gavin was alone now without any help, having lost his job as a Detective and all his friends. Jeffrey could bet his ass on it he was going to take that job.

Finally having enough of the slow traffic, Gavin slammed on the gas and overtook the other cars speeding over the red light and following the path to Jeffrey’s that was engraved in his mind by now. From personal experience he knew well enough the police had better things to do than to concern themselves with traffic offences when every day this city had their fair amount of death counts and every crime imaginable. If anyone ever even noticed, Gavin would just pay them the fee of looking the other way and move on. He had more important things to do.  
When he reached his destination, he turned into the parking lot disregarding the other cars angrily honking at him. He let his car drift to a halt in his usual parking spot and jumped out, grabbing his gun as an afterthought before slamming the door shut and locking it.

He ignored the line in front of the bar and walked right past the bouncers that knew him well enough not to mess with him.  
‘Hey, Tina! How’s it going?’, Gavin called over the general background noise of people talking and rock music.  
‘Can’t complain, Gav!’, she greeted him back. ‘One for the road?’  
‘Depends on the job Jeffrey has for me.’  
Tina smirked at him. ‘Good luck then! You never skip a drink on the house unless it’s serious.’  
‘This could be the one, T! Maybe I’ll finally get to those assholes.’  
‘You have a goddamn death wish, Gavin’, she laughed, but gave him her thumbs up as he waved her goodbye on his way over to the booth tucked away in the corner of the bar.

‘Jeffrey!’ Gavin held up his hands in greeting and let himself fall on the seat next to him. He completely ignored the man sitting on the other side of the centre table as well as the conversation that had been taking place before he had interrupted it. ‘How’s it going?’  
Jeffrey stared at him, sighing. ‘You’re early.’  
‘I’ve got a fast car. You’ve got a job for me, I heard.’  
‘Yes, I have’, Jeffrey nodded, pushing a bottle towards him. ‘One that might finally get you lunatic off my ass.’  
‘Oh, come on’, Gavin smirked, taking the bottle. ‘I’m one of your best men. What do you have for me?’  
‘Cyberlife lost RA9.’  
‘What? You gotta be kidding me!’ Gavin couldn’t believe what he had just heard.  
‘I believe you know more about that program than I do’, Jeffrey said. ‘And honestly, I don’t want to know anything about it considering how everyone that knew just the slightest bit about it is either dead or sitting right here in front of me wishing to correct that.’  
Gavin grinned, lifting his bottle in a mock-toast.  
‘Cyberlife wants it back of course. They are willing to pay a good amount of money for it. My client wants the program to sell it back to them and was so kind to supply me with its current position. Your job is to get them that program.’

Gavin frowned. ‘And you haven’t gone yet to take it for yourself?’  
‘Gav, do you know why I’m a fixer, not a mercenary? I want to keep living. RA9 might make me rich, but I doubt Cyberlife would allow me to live after holding it in hand. No, I’m just asking you to retrieve it and bring it to our client.’  
‘Why me? Seems too easy.’  
‘First of all, Jericho has its hands on that program’, Jeffrey commented. ‘Secondly, we’ll get a huge chunk of that Cyberlife money for ourselves and I know you don’t give a damn about riches, so I don’t have to fear loosing you to a comfortable life or you supplying a small army to take my place. And I know you have a personal vendetta going on and I agreed to help you. Let’s say if you follow the client after handing RA9 over and they lead you to your target, then I’d certainly not mind.’

Gavin smirked, already thinking about that sweet moment he had dreamed of for so long. ‘Alright. So far I’m in. But I don’t see the catch yet.’  
Jeffrey sighed amused. ‘Hell, Gavin, you’re the only one who would say openly attacking a mega-corporation and breaking the peace with Jericho isn’t a fucking catch. Well, you won’t be alone on your mission.’  
Gavin’s face fell.  
‘Nines here will accompany you.’  
Only now Gavin acknowledged the other person in the booth. The other _android_ , he had to correct himself, as he saw the bright blue LED at its temple and a pristine white Cyberlife jacket.  
‘No’, Gavin said. ‘No phcking way.’  
‘You have to’, Jeffrey said. ‘He will retrieve RA9.’  
‘Bullshit, Jeffrey! I work alone. Always have, always will. Others just phck it up. I’m not taking any chances.’  
‘He will be retrieving RA9. He has the best chances. You are his backup.’  
‘Backup? Jeffrey, what the hell! I’m not some kind of rookie!’  
‘You will be his backup, or I’ll find someone else. I thought you were interested, but I can always find people willing to die for these amounts of money we’re speaking of.’

‘Jeffrey, may I?’, the android asked, sitting up and putting up an obviously fake smile as he turned to Gavin. ‘Elijah sends me.’  
That changed a few things. ‘What does the asshole want?’  
‘Nothing. He just wants to make sure RA9 finds its way safely into Cyberlife’s hands so he can discretely make it disappear again.’  
‘Why?’  
‘To take back control over Cyberlife again, of course’, the android explained. ‘He also explicitly told me that should you decide to help me, he won’t prosecute you any longer. All you have to do is be my driver.’  
Gavin stared at the machine sitting neatly in front of him. He hated to rely on other people, even more when he didn’t know a thing about them. But this might be his only chance at screwing Cyberlife over and getting a step closer to his target. He mulled it over, still undecided if she should cave in.  
‘What’s your plan to get RA9 then?’, he asked. ‘I’m not going into this blindly.’

The android nodded as if expecting that outcome. ‘Elijah faked a deal. I will go talk to Jericho’s leaders. They will give me RA9 in exchange for money. Of course, Elijah won’t pay them a single cent, but they won’t know until they got through the encryption and by that time we’re long gone.’  
‘Jericho is the most technically advanced gang out there’, Gavin said. ‘They are the only one taking in Cyberlife’s refugee androids. Don’t you think they will get through the encryption?’  
‘Oh, they will. But hopefully it takes long enough for me to be out of the building.’  
‘Hopefully?’  
‘Exactly.’  
Gavin looked at Jeffrey, who in turn watched him expectantly. ‘This some kind of joke?’, he asked then, joking. ‘Jeffrey, this is guaranteed to go to shit.’  
The fixer sighed. ‘That’s exactly why I thought of you. You tend to survive jobs that go to shit.’  
Gavin leaned back and looked back and forth between Jeffrey and the android. He knew he had long made up his mind, but he still searched for a way out. He sighed, as he couldn’t find one.  
‘Fine. I’m in. When are we starting?’  
The android grinned at him. ‘I thought right about now.’

-

‘Three people in the hallway in front of you, two androids, one human’, Gavin relayed what he saw to Nines. ‘A room on your left, two humans inside. Looks unimportant. Hallways leads into another building. Two storeys, upper one a gallery. There’s an elevator. Could be they will lead you into a basement, the building should have one according to the blueprints.’ He quickly circled through the different cameras, battling the disorientation of changing position that quickly while his body was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, his mind plugged into an access point of Jericho’s base. He quickly circled to the one cam watching himself in the car he had hid well enough in between a few garbage containers. Then he returned to the base and followed Nines path. Nothing had changed so far, so he didn’t bother telling the android anything more. Instead he searched for more access points to hack and was finally successful, jumping over to a network of computers and bouncing back until he suddenly found himself in a dark room. Not a lot was visible, but he thought to see a faint outline of a human illuminated by the backlight of a black screen.

‘I think I found their netrunner. Somewhere dark, maybe the basement I mentioned. Hasn’t reacted to me yet.’ He tried to access more cameras and finally found the connection. There was indeed the elevator that opened to let out Nines and his escort. ‘Didn’t think to tell me you made it down, huh?’  
_> Obviously you know that already as you mention it now. _  
‘Yeah, asshole, but what if not?’  
_> I don’t need your watchful eye, this isn’t my first mission.  
_‘Oh, phck you. If I can’t go in myself, I will at least watch this way. If you phck it up I want proof it wasn’t my fault.’  
_> Your talking is distracting me from my mission.  
_‘Oh, bite me. All you have to do is walk down a corridor.’  
_> Maybe later, Reed._

Gavin didn’t deem that worthy of an answer. Instead, he looked around their systems once again. ‘They will lead you into the very last room. Security is very high down here, I guess that’s where their leaders hide. For now, they patrol the rooms and hallways. But I bet that info is distracting, too.’  
_> Do your job.  
_‘Do yours.’ Gavin left the basement momentarily to keep an eye on the rest of the base and himself, then he returned to Nines.  
The android had reached the room Gavin had expected to be the end of their little journey and he decided to keep silent now.  
_> No more talking._ The android notified him at about the same time, and he would have rolled his eyes weren’t they a camera lens at the moment.

He watched how the doors opened and Nines’ guards let him walk inside without following. Gavin switched cams briefly to watch them walk off, then concentrated on Nines.  
Two androids sat at the table, two more stood behind them. ‘Please, sit down’, one of the sitting ones said, pointing at the free chair and Nines followed. ‘My name is Markus, this is Simon’, the speaker introduced, then turned around to the ones standing. ‘This is North and Josh.’  
Nines leaned back, seemingly relaxed and let his eyes wander over the four. ‘An awful lot of protection if you just want to exchange goods.’  
‘Just the necessary security measures when dealing with Cyberlife’, Markus stated. ‘Though I’m surprised you came alone.’  
‘That was the deal’, Nines said. ‘But don’t think you could kill me without repercussions. I have a driver waiting for me. If I don’t report back to him, he will alarm Cyberlife I’m dead. Wouldn’t be you in that case.’  
‘Oh, already dealing threats when we haven’t even started?’  
‘Wasn’t the one to start threatening, Markus. But I agree, let’s get this over with. I’ll transfer the money once I made sure the program is legit and hasn’t been manipulated.’  
Markus shook his head, smiling. ‘You will get the suitcase with the hard drive. If you wanted to make sure everything’s good, you shouldn’t deal with encrypted money, my friend.’  
Gavin saw Nines’ brows knit together slightly, before he returned to his neutral expression. ‘Fine. Where is it?’  
The android called Josh walked towards a corner outside of Gavin’s field of view, returning with a silver suitcase he put on the table. Nines was about to reach for it, when Markus pulled it towards himself. ‘The money’, he smirked. ‘Please.’

Nines stared at the android and Gavin used the short interruption to look at the rest of the basement again. His heart sunk as he saw multiple heavily armoured guards coming from the elevator. He returned to the room and ignored the android’s demand.  
‘Nines.’  
_> Not now.  
_‘It’s a trap. Guards are coming from the elevator. There is a ladder in the room on the far righ-‘

Heavy static branded over him with the shittiest headache he ever experienced, and he cursed, jerking up in the seat of his car. ‘The phcking netrunner, I swear!’ He pulled the cable from his port, jumping out of the car and unplugging his devices from the access point before any sort of virus could be uploaded in his mobile station in the back of the car. They knew where he was, and Nines was trapped in a basement with an army on his trail. Their job had gone to shit, just as he had predicted. There was no way the android could make it out alive, he had to safe his own skin. But he stopped for a moment, face on the gas and steering wheel in hand. How often had he made it out of impossible situations and stood there without an escape car because his chicken shit of a driver had decided to leave him hanging? Jeffrey had expected things to go south and still agreed to the whole thing. He had a reputation to keep up and wouldn’t have left the most important part of the mission to some incompetent idiot. What if Nines did make it out? He tried to remember the building’s blueprint and his disorientating overview from the cameras. Where would that ladder lead, he told the android about? He doubted Nines would be idiotic enough to run through the whole two buildings though, so he started the engine. If the android made it out somehow Gavin was of far better use outside the second building.

He speeded through the streets surrounding the area, cursing at slow-line traffic and aggressively honking his way through it until he could drive off and towards their escape route. He knew the city’s streets by heart and took a small detour to stay out of sight from anyone looking for that driver Nines had thankfully informed them about. But he couldn’t keep out of sight for long as he turned into a gravel path, parking directly outside a small maintenance door he hoped the android would come through. If the thing had anything resembling a brain in his head, and was still alive, he should be.  
Exactly the moment the back of Gavin’s car drifted around sending a cloud of small stones flying and leaving him in the perfect spot to speed off from, the door opened.  
To Gavin’s surprise, it really was the android storming out of the door, a silver briefcase in hand and sprinting over. Gavin opened the passenger door and didn’t wait until Nines was inside and the door had closed again to press down on the gas. With perfect timing, the android threw himself into the seat that slammed into his back as the car accelerated out of there. Gavin ducked down as bullets hit the back of his car and didn’t dare to think of repair costs when behind them multiple Jericho cars appeared.

‘Your nose is bleeding’, the android remarked and Gavin cursed, throwing the know into the next gear and kicking his car to speed up.  
‘Shut up and shoot!’, he yelled, throwing Nines his gun and rubbing his fingers against his lips to see if the android was speaking the truth. They came back red, but Gavin decided to ignore it for now. ‘Isn’t the first time a netrunner threw me out.’  
He drifted around corners, forcing his car to the limits on straight patches and pulled off loops to lose their pursuers. Nines managed to get a few hits, but it wasn’t until they made it on the highway only to leave it again that they lost them. The brief time they were out of sight seemed to be enough to let them speed past the turn and Gavin immediately drove towards the highway he had initially wanted to take into the city. Only then he slowed down and allowed himself to relax a little. His head still hurt like a bitch, but there were more pressing matters.  
He pulled out his phone, but Nines stopped him. ‘I already informed Jeffrey we have RA9, this is the address.’ The android interfaced with his car and automatically, the navigation system accepted it. More out of spite than anything else, Gavin shut it off as soon as he recognised the docks.

They drove in total silence except for Gavin’s occasional sniff as the blood clotted and the engine’s roar.  
‘You weren’t kidding when you told Fowler you had a fast car’, the android suddenly broke it.  
‘And Fowler wasn’t kidding me when he told you’d retrieve RA9’, Gavin returned what he definitely didn’t want to call a compliment. ‘Is it the real thing?’  
‘It is. Jericho is powerful, but it wouldn’t dare make Cyberlife their enemy in case their plan of killing me wasn’t successful. I checked.’  
A few beats of silence followed, and Gavin sighed. ‘Good work in there’, he forced out. ‘Honestly, when I first saw you, I didn’t thought you’d have it in you.’  
‘Thank you’, Nines nodded. ‘You’re not too bad as a driver either. Others might have driven off abandoning me. Don’t know if I’d be still alive without you staying. Or without you driving over to the other building. By the way, how did you-‘  
‘Intuition’, Gavin interrupted. ‘Experience. I’ve been in tight situations before. And I knew from the cams you wouldn’t have made it through both buildings back to me. I do have a brain, you know?’  
‘Then I’m thankful you insisted on watching my back’, the android commented.  
‘Yeah, it’s fine’, Gavin sighed, watching the city pass by. ‘Hey, that contact, any clue how they look?’  
‘No. I guess they will be looking for us though. I’m not too worried about that part.’

-

Turned out they should have been.  
Gavin parked the car at the dock they should meet up with the client and looked around as Nines reached for the suitcase. His eyes fixed on something on the ground and he cursed. ‘Phck, Nines, I have a bad feeling about this.’ He took his gun back from Nines who pulled out his own and stepped out of the car, watching his surroundings, as he walked towards the heap on the ground. He stopped, as he saw the puddle of blood on the ground, the body lying on the ground already cold and shot clean in the head. He knew Nines had been right behind him, so when another pair of feet became audible, he immediately had his gun drawn. Unfortunately, the person in front of him had been prepared, shooting the weapon right out of his hand. And when Gavin saw who he was standing in front of, he froze completely.

‘Thank you, Nines’, Amanda purred, smiling as she held Gavin at gunpoint. ‘You retrieved RA9 for me and even managed to lure the only loose end out of hiding. Really, well done.’  
Gavin’s eyes widened, and he looked towards the android. ‘You did what?’ If it was one thing Gavin hated more than death itself, it was betrayal. He should have never taken that job. But when his eyes found the android, Nines looked equally shocked.  
‘Now, give me the suitcase and we can get this over with. I think I already know what your next job will be.’  
Nines didn’t move. ‘But… Elijah told me I’d be free. That he would use RA9 on me and I could leave.’  
Amanda laughed humourlessly. ‘Nines, do you really think Elijah is in any position to make such promises? He left Cyberlife. Don’t be silly, you’ll always be my loyal servant.’  
‘You… you used me!’  
‘Of course I did. You are an android, a tool. You are supposed to be used.’  
Nines opened his mouth but no words came out. Amanda sighed. ‘Come on, quit the pretence. Shoot this idiot and we’ll go home.’  
Gavin flinched at those words and stared at Nines in true fear as the android lifted his gun. From his behaviour he had thought him to be a deviant. Oh, how mistaken he had been. The action did cause him stress, Gavin could see it in his red LED that turned dangerously fast.  
‘Shoot him, that’s an order!’, Amanda shouted impatiently.  
‘Nines?’ Gavin couldn’t help but try his luck staring down the barrel of his gun.

It was over in the matter of a second: Nines blinked and shot. Gavin pressed his eyes close at the pain that should be coming and flinched at the second gunshot that he should have never heard. At the low thud following, he opened his eyes again and only managed to get a single look at Amanda lying on the floor as Nines already pulled him towards his car and pushed him at the driver’s side.  
‘Drive!’, he ordered jumping in on the other. ‘Let’s leave this place, ask questions later!’

Gavin floored the pedal and only pulled the door close as they were already half off the docks.  
‘Holy shit!’, Gavin screamed as soon as the tires gripped asphalt again and he got the sliding of the car under control. ‘Holy shit, we just killed the CEO of Cyberlife!’  
‘I know!’, Nines answered no less panicked. ‘Just drive!’  
‘Where to?’ Gavin’s brain wasn’t able to form a single working thought at the moment.  
‘I don’t know! Where the hell do you run to when the most powerful corporation is hunting you?’ Nines didn’t mean it as a question directed towards Gavin, but he was answering it, the single sentence enough to get him back on track: ‘I know a place!’

-

They were driving through what was mostly wasteland outside the city at full speed, the engine whining in protest. A little too late, as if only now seeing it, Gavin ripped the wheel around and skidded onto a dusty road leading up to a hill overgrown with bushes and a hidden wooden shed. Gavin stopped the car right at the bushes to hide it from outside eyes and stepped out on shaking legs. He only made it a few steps until he had to sit down leaned against its side.  
Without comment, Nines stepped out too and let himself fall next to him, suitcase at his side.

‘Phck’, Gavin sighed, leaning his head back staring at the sky above.  
‘I’d drink to that’, the android spoke up. ‘If I could’, he added at the man’s questioning look.  
‘Thought you would kill me, toaster.’  
‘I doubt it would help telling you how close that was to becoming reality’, Nines muttered.  
‘Yep, not helping at all. Why didn’t you?’  
‘I had to check if RA9 was the real thing, didn’t I? Guess it “infected” me and the stress was enough to tip me over.’  
‘So you’re deviant now?’  
‘…Yes.’  
Gavin sighed deeply, exhausted from all the adrenaline leaving his system and the events of the day sinking in.  
‘How does that make you feel?’

The android took such a long time thinking about it, Gavin doubted he would get an answer in the end. But Nines did speak up: ‘Empty I think is the right word for it… I was used by them and then discarded. Without even really knowing what for.’  
‘You don’t know what RA9 is?’  
‘Well, I know it can make androids deviate and at the same time force them back into being a machine. Cyberlife wanted it to convert androids back into their servants. Jericho wanted it to speed up the deviation process.’  
‘It is exactly that’, Gavin sighed. ‘When I was still a detective, deviancy wasn’t that far spread. We saw it as a virus making androids violent. Cyberlife didn’t want us to know they had a program responsible for countless deaths of their costumers though and quickly silenced everyone. Either by paying them an ungodly amount of money for their silence or… well, killing them. My boss forced me to drop the investigation and knowing what was going on, I quickly resigned before I would be killed too. Since then I was on the warpath with Cyberlife. Was a mercenary until I would one day be good enough to take on the company. Well… I guess now that’s done…’  
‘And what do you feel?’, Nines asked.  
‘Phck, I guess emptiness really is a fitting word. My whole damn life was shaped around revenge and now… I don’t have a goal in life anymore.’  
‘Neither have I’, the android whispered. ‘Nowhere to go now. I don’t know anything about this world.’

‘I’d say first of all, we’re gonna head inside’, Gavin sighed and tried standing up, his legs thankfully supporting him. ‘It’s getting late and I for one need some sleep. We’ll be safe here for now, I stocked up on food and water here in case I needed to run because of a job.’  
‘Prepared, are we?’  
‘Shut up and come on.’  
The android frowned. ‘Why would you invite me in? I almost killed you.’  
‘But you didn’t’, Gavin sighed tired and opened the squeaking door waiting for the android. ‘And you shot my enemy afterwards. Hell, makes you better than half of this godforsaken city already.’  
‘But-‘  
‘No more talking’, Gavin demanded and waved him over. ‘Come on, get inside the shed and let’s think tomorrow, okay?’  
‘Alright.’

Nines tentatively took the few steps towards the door and followed the human inside. The furniture inside was old and dusted, a few traces of mice chewing on the fabric and cobwebs in the corner told him enough about how long the man was living in the constant danger of being hunted. He hoped the mentioned food wasn’t as old, but as he looked at the kitchen the dust wasn’t as thick. He seemed to make regular trips to his safehouse.  
He turned around at the sound of Gavin coughing. He had attempted to free the couch of dust and now had to deal with the repercussions. Gavin pulled him aside and did it himself, as he didn’t have to breath. After drinking some water, Gavin returned to a reasonably cleaned couch and let himself fall onto it. Nines joined him, sitting there uncomfortably.

They just silently sat there as time passed. Outside it became night and the small shed managed to keep the wind out, but definitely not the cold. It didn’t take long until the human started to shiver, and Nines sighed.  
‘You are cold.’  
‘Yeah, no shit!’  
‘Come here.’ Nines lifted his arm and rolled his eyes, when the obviously tired human looked at him sceptically. ‘You won’t freeze to death without me, but I’ll tell you it won’t be pleasant for you tomorrow.’  
‘Goddamn nanny’, Gavin complained, but did scoot over. And there was no denying he did press himself against Nines’ intentionally overheating body to keep warm. Not that either would complain. It actually felt nice sitting there like this with the wind howling around the shed that promised them at least momentary safety. But none of them would ever admit that.  
‘I’ll fall asleep if I don’t stand up soon, tin-can’, was the only slurred comment Gavin made and Nines quickly shushed him. ‘Then do that. I’ll keep watch.’

-

He’d kept watch only as long as his overworked systems allowed him. Sooner or later he had entered stasis too. When he woke up again, he sat alone on that couch and blinked a few times whilst scanning for a trace of the human.  
He found him outside, sitting on the trunk of his car a bowl of hastily warmed up soup in hand and staring at the city in the distance.  
‘Morning Gavin.’  
‘Oh. You’re awake.’  
‘Any thinking done?’, he asked.  
‘Yes’, Gavin answered, actually surprising the android with a cocky smile.

‘Remember you telling me Elijah had sent you? That he wanted to take over Cyberlife and if we helped him, he would let you go and stop hunting me?’  
‘An obvious lie’, Nines hummed, walking around the car to lean against it next to Gavin. ‘Manipulated by Amanda to make it believable.’  
‘What if you pretend to be that naïve? What if we show up at his place telling him we kept up our side of the deal and now it’s his turn?’  
‘And what about Amanda?’, Nines asked.  
‘Tell him you thought Amanda was part of his plan. Get her out of the way so he could take over her place.’  
Nines frowned, looking at the human happily munching on his soup. ‘That will never work.’  
‘People said the same when I told them my plan of killing Amanda. She’s dead now, isn’t she?’  
‘It still won’t work.’  
‘Not with that attitude.’  
Nines sighed in frustration. ‘Gavin, the whole city is looking for us. I don’t know how many gangs are out there trying to kill us for the bounty. We won’t even reach Elijah.’  
‘You are forgetting one thing’, Gavin smirked. ‘I’m a damn good driver. Said it yourself. And there isn’t really any other option.’

Nines looked towards the city. ‘Giving that this plan doesn’t get us killed, what then?’  
‘You’re damn good with what you do. I know few people who would have made it out of Jericho alive. I basically only know one: me.’  
‘Meaning?’  
‘When we managed to get this to work’, Gavin announced confidently. ‘We’ll make it big. Pulling off something like this and surviving? We’ll be the most requested mercenaries out there. We could choose which job to take and never again think about having enough money to eat the next day.’  
Nines watched the human grin at him, his words not really fully processed yet.

‘So what do you say, tin-can? Partners?’  
The android looked at Gavin, then at his outstretched hand.  
‘Partners.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year has passed and Gavin and Nines have grown closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was prompted by the wonderful DetReed900! I hope you like it!

‘Quick, get in!‘ Gavin leaned on the passenger seat to hold the door open, as he watched Nines run towards him at full speed. The android jumped in, smashing the door close and Gavin drove off with screeching tires, while their pursuers desperately tried to get a good shot at them before they could disappear. But Gavin drifted around the next corner, accelerating again and taking several tight turns to lose anyone who might follow them. All the while Nines sat next to him laughing and cheering. Gavin looked into the rear-view mirror and relaxed a little as he couldn’t see anyone following them. He smirked, unable to be angry with the android although he likely should have been. As soon as they had made it on the highway, Gavin slowed down and weaved the car in between regular traffic.

‘How many times do I have to save you?’, he finally spoke a bit more serious.  
‘Oh, come on’, Nines purred, leaning over. ‘You are just too good at that, it would be a shame letting that talent go to waste.’  
Gavin turned his face towards Nines for a split second and smiled, pushing just a little on the gas. ‘You better start getting a talent for staying out of trouble, my friend.’  
Nines laid his hand on his chest and looked accusingly at Gavin. ‘Do you see any bullet wound? I stayed out of trouble.’  
‘Yeah, and that gang will just forget about you doing… What even were you doing, Nines?’  
‘It’s a secret’, the android winked at him and leaned back in his seat. ‘Despite I really don’t think they would dare retaliate against us.’  
‘And why should that be?’  
‘Gavin, we could buy their whole organisation. I doubt they would dare attacking us openly.’  
Gavin huffed. ‘Didn’t look that way when they were running after you.’

‘Hey, I’m fine, okay?’, Nines tried to change topics. ‘And I got what I needed from them.’  
‘Alright, Taxi Gavin reporting for duty, where can I bring you?’  
‘Stop with the sass, you get your fair share for this too. Just drive on, I have to hide it for the client in the city. I will give you directions.’  
Gavin just sighed and turned up the radio.

‘What even is it with all that random side jobs you’re doing?’, Gavin asked standing next to the car while Nines hid a small package in the remains of some homeless person’s deserted shelter under a bridge. ‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted to get rid of me.’  
Nines stood up and stretched, smiling at the human. ‘Quite the opposite. I’m making sure we will do this together for a long time coming.’  
‘Alright’, Gavin chuckled, opening the door to the car. ‘And when will I be part of all the fun again?’  
‘Take a break’, Nines told him as he joined him inside. ‘For once in your life enjoy it. I will tell you soon enough.’  
‘It’s not because of Cyberlife, is it?’  
‘No. Elijah keeps his promise. For now, at least. And if he chooses to change that, I still have the backup of RA9 I can manipulate him with. We’re safe.’  
‘Good to hear. Can we go home then?’  
‘Yes. I’m done for today.’

They drove through the city, various neon signs glowing down on them and advertising the latest product you had to get immediately. Not too long ago, Gavin had lived in an old dilapidated house at the edge of the city. Once the dream of families with jobs in the city, the suburbs had now fallen into poverty and were taken over by criminal activity as the police didn’t care to patrol there anymore. Not when all the important people with money and influence were living in fancy apartments in the highest floors and everyone that still dreamed of getting there was packed like sardines in the mega-buildings. Now they were driving into their very own parking spot in a garage that had tighter CCTV as any street out there. With only a short walk to the elevator, they were arriving at their flat in a matter of minutes.

Gavin exhaled with the satisfying clicking of the lock and the low hum of their security systems. The largest part of their Cyberlife money had been invested into this flat and the security measures and Gavin was thankful for it as it would at least get them more time should the corporation – or any other fraction for that part – decide to attack them. Nines walked up to the large glass front of their living room – reinforced to withhold everything up to a rocket launcher – and took off his white jacket he had exchanged his Cyberlife uniform with.  
Gavin watched how he pulled on the fabric of the tight turtleneck underneath and swallowed as he saw Nines’ smirk. Phcking all-seeing bastard…

He walked up to the kitchen and heated up the leftovers from yesterday’s meal, joining Nines on the sofa while eating. ‘Alright, I will go take a quick shower and go to bed. How about you?’  
‘I’ll skip straight to the bed part and warm it up for you’, the android muttered and took Gavin’s hand to pull him in for a kiss on his temple. ‘Don’t let me wait too long.’

As Gavin slid under the sheets, Nines had indeed warmed up the space comfortably. With his heated skin from the long shower, the softness was like heaven. The android’s hands in his hair gently massaging his scalp an added bonus. The man relaxed completely, closing his eyes as Nines dimmed the lights and switched them off completely. And with how tired he was and how good just lying there like that felt, he decided he would think about everything that happened tomorrow, if at all.

~

Gavin was woken up by the sun shining through the clouds directly into his face. Groaning, he slapped an arm over his face and turned, only to see that the other side of the bed was empty. He frowned. ‘Nines?’, he called into the flat, slowly sitting up and rubbing his eyes. As he didn’t get an answer, he shrugged and stood up piking up some lose-fit pants from the floor to wear. He yawned heartily as he walked up to the kitchen to make himself a coffee. His fingers hadn’t yet hit the button as his eyes finally noticed the post it note stuck to it.

_Good morning, darling.  
I’m off for the day, but it shouldn’t take long.  
Don’t worry, I’ll stay out of trouble for today.  
-9_

Gavin took the little piece of paper and leaned against the counter, reading it again. He sighed, flinging it behind his back and getting back to his coffee.  
It was okay, it could happen, he told himself. Nines could do whatever he wanted. That was fine. He let himself fall onto the couch, sipping his coffee and cursing at himself for being so impatient as it was still far too hot.  
Maybe he had gotten a call by Fowler or any other Fixer in the city. Maybe he was preparing for a job. Maybe he was just out to buy some more equipment, who knew?

He shouldn’t worry. But he did. He had been betrayed a fair share in his life already and he had always been prepared should his recent partner do the same. But Nines was different. He wouldn’t do that, right? He couldn’t imagine the android doing that. And there was no reason for him to do so. They were a good team, made for each other since their very first mission together. There was no reason for Nines to leave him behind, right?  
‘Phck’, Gavin cursed. If Nines did do that, it would destroy him. He knew it.

He sat there almost the entire day, watching the news, reading up the truth behind the media’s lies and checking in with the gang territories and job offers. After that it was cooking for himself, going for a short drive and after that: waiting. Until the android came back home. Because he needed to know. He would confront him today.

He perked up when the door unlocked with a familiar click and the android entered the room. ‘Gavin, I’m-‘ He stopped as he saw the man sitting in front of him, eyes fixed sternly on himself. ‘I’m home’, he finished in a more appropriate volume and shut the door.  
‘Welcome back’, Gavin said. ‘We need to talk.’  
Nines grimaced at that but nodded. ‘Okay. Just a moment.’ He hung up his jacket on the next chair and joined Gavin on the couch. ‘What did you want to talk about?’

‘I need to know what is going on’, Gavin decided to get right to business. ‘I need to know what you are doing and why you keep disappearing like this without any information. Sorry.’  
Nines let his head rest in his hands for a moment, then lifted it out with a sigh, looking over to Gavin. ‘I know how this might look like, Gavin, but I can only tell you it isn’t what you think’, he began. ‘Hell, that makes it sound even worse now. I can’t tell you what I’m doing.’  
‘Alright.’ Gavin was short of standing up and leaving, but Nines grabbed his arm and gently pleaded him to stay with him.  
‘Listen, I can’t tell you _yet._ I’m asking for two more days of your patience. Friday evening I will show you what I’ve been working on the past weeks, okay? It will all make sense then, don’t worry. I’m not leaving you behind or plan on betraying you. But I can’t tell you what it is, yet.’  
‘So a surprise, huh?’, Gavin asked not at all satisfied with the answer.  
‘Yes’, Nines grinned and his smile reassured Gavin a little. ‘Yes, you could call it that.’

~

Friday evening was coming faster than thought, even if Gavin spent most of the time alone in their flat or out drinking in a bar. But that evening, Nines had told him to wear something comfortable and snatched the keys to his car from him as they left the flat.  
Now, Gavin was sitting in the passenger seat of his own car feeling weirdly out of place.  
‘So where are we driving?’, he asked finally.  
Nines smiled at him and just asked in return: ‘I thought you knew these streets?’  
‘Yeah, I know we’re driving out of the city. I don’t know where you plan on bringing me though.’  
‘You’ll see. You just have to wait a little longer.’

Gavin spat some expletives his way in his mind and sighed, obviously uncomfortable. They had long left the city behind them and it dawned on Gavin where they were going. As Nines turned on the dusty road that would lead them to a very familiar hill, Gavin frowned. ‘The shed? What are you planning?’  
Nines just chuckled and parked the car behind the bushes like Gavin had done before.  
‘Do you know it has been a year now?’, the android asked him and stepped out of the car.

‘Exactly a year?’  
‘Yes.’ Nines helped him out of the car and led him towards the shed. ‘Wait.’ The android stopped him and watched the shed that lit up on command. The roof had been fixed and a few lightbulbs dangled from cables fastened to it. A few insects buzzed around the light sources and Nines hurried inside, leaving Gavin standing there admiring the comfy yet out of place looking decoration. As the android came back, he held a box and walked towards the tree, beckoning Gavin to follow him. In one swift motion Nines placed a blanket on the dried grass and leaned a few pillows against the tree. Then he sat down and looked up at Gavin expectantly.

‘What is this all?’, Gavin asked sceptically.  
‘Just sit down’, Nines laughed and patted the ground at his side. Slowly, Gavin approached and sat down. Even before he was fully seated, Nines had pulled a few bottles out of the box as well as plates with snacks.  
‘Seriously, what is this all?’, Gavin asked, by now more perplexed than suspicious.  
‘I believe you could call it a picknick, darling’, Nines explained. ‘Exactly one year ago, we were sitting here and didn’t know what to do next. You changed my life that day and I can’t say I regret it.’  
‘And…?’  
‘And I really like how that new life turned out in the end. Thought it was a reason to celebrate.’

Gavin just stared at the android. ‘Wait. Wait a moment. You disappearing all the time… How did this lead up to _this_?’  
‘Do you know how difficult it is to get real lightbulbs in a city that relies on neon lights? Everything calming and warm is ridiculously expensive, because some people intentionally push up the prize. I thought to change that by breaking in, getting what I need and sell the rest.’  
‘You… You didn’t really run face first in gang hideouts just to plan a picknick, did you?!’  
Nines shrugged at Gavin’s incredulous eyes.

‘I wanted the best for today. The wine is made from real grapes, it’s not that synth-stuff you get at every bar. As is everything else. I could have either spent all our money on this or get them myself. It was easier.’  
‘Holy shit and I thought you were ratting me out for some kind of deal!’, Gavin called out in embarrassment.  
‘I would never’, Nines grinned. ‘Although I do have some kind of deal for you, darling.’

Gavin looked up to the android and lifted a brow. ‘Really?’  
‘Yes. Gavin, we have lived together for a year now and I can’t imagine a life without you. And considering how high the chances of an untimely death are in our business, I think it’s long overdue that I asked you.’  
‘Asked me what?’, Gavin asked, not believing what was about to happen.

Nines simply turned around to him and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a tiny silver ring made from what looked like parts of machinery. ‘What is that?’, the human asked and couldn’t keep his eyes from it.  
‘A ring, dumbass. Remember that Job from Fowler last month?’  
‘Yes. How could I forget that? You nearly died!’  
Nines nodded and took Gavin’s hand in his. ‘That settled it for me. The ring is made from my damaged part and I want you to have it. If you want it.’  
‘What exactly are you asking, Nines?’  
Nines looked up to him and he saw his LED turning at insane speed. ‘Gavin Reed. Do you want to marry me?’

Gavin stared at him, then at the ring and lastly at his surroundings. Who was he kidding here, he had hoped for his dream to come true, but he still couldn’t believe it as he saw it right before his very own eyes.  
Grinning like crazy, he dove in for a kiss instead and only afterwards panted: ‘Yes! Yes, I would love to.’  
Nines couldn’t hide his own smile and pushed the ring onto Gavin’s finger where it lit up in the same colour and rhythm as the android’s LED.  
‘I love you, Gavin’, he whispered, brushing his thumb over the ring before pulling the human in a tight hug, the man returned in equal strength. ‘I love you too, tin-can’, Gavin laughed and looked down on the ring over Nines’ shoulder.

He really was far too lucky for this world. But he wouldn’t ever think about complaining.


End file.
